


The Gift

by cinnappo



Category: Super Junior
Genre: AU, M/M, Superpowers, inspired by The Dog of Orthros
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 03:58:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9417509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cinnappo/pseuds/cinnappo
Summary: In which Jongwoon's favorite pasttime is kissing things better.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by the drama "The Dog of Orthros." Originally published on livejournal on 2011/12/24. In the process of (slowly) moving my works over from lj. This is one of my favorites.

Ever since he was little, Jongwoon's solution to everything was to "kiss it better."

If he scraped a knee, he would run crying to his mother, and she would smile kindly before pressing a gentle kiss to it. It wouldn't go away, but it would always hurt less. If he banged his shin on the coffee table, sat up too quickly and hit his head on the bunk bed he shared with Jongjin, was confined to the couch with a blanket and a pillow on days he had a nasty fever, his mother always kissed it better.

It wasn't just the bumps and bruises and colds that could be kissed better either. If Jongjin would do something bad and blame it on him (which he always did), his father would scold him and send him to bed. Or sometimes the neighborhood kids would call him a mean name. Or sometimes Kkoming would steal his snack when he wasn't looking. His mother would kiss all those better, too, pressing a kiss to his forehead and wiping his tears away and the sad went away.

He tried to kiss other problems better too, but it never quite worked the way he wanted. One time he was coloring a picture for his father to put up on the fridge, and he accidentally colored outside of the line. He had tried to kiss that better, but he just ended up with the waxy flavor of crayon on his lips and the picture ended up smudged. He decided that kissing it better was probably only a people thing.

When he was nine years old, during recess, Jongwoon realized just how powerful kissing it better could be.

It was an ordinary fall day at school, and Jongwoon spent most of his recess as he usually did -- playing alone in the turtle sandbox. The other kids avoided him because they thought he was weird, but it didn't bother him. It meant he had more sand to play with. 

But this day was a little different, because the normal clamor of his classmates sounded... meaner than usual. Jongwoon looked up from his sand castle to see a a group of three kids from his grade surrounding a small boy with long bangs on the swing set. He looked really scared, especially at the jeers of the kids on the playground who were watching the spectacle.

"Hey, kid," said the leader of the trio, smirk adorning his face. "You're going to have to go play somewhere else now. We want to swing here."

The small boy clung to the chains of the swing, frightened but not backing down. "But... I was here first. There are other swings over there you can use," he replied quietly, pointing to a second swing sdet a little ways away.

The leader scoffed. "Those swings are no fun. We want to use these swings. So get off."

"No," the small boy said defiantly, still looking terrified but standing his ground. "If you want to use this swing, you should wait your turn."

The leader growled impatiently. "I said get off!"

"No!" the boy replied, kicking his feet and starting to swing, making the trio jump back so that they didn't get hit. The leader screamed and stomped his feet, blabbering something to his friends about getting the swing because he wants it _now!_ So one of his two friends ran around the swing set behind the small boy, and caught the chain in mid swing, making the small boy fall off the swing and land right on his face. 

The trio began to laugh, and then all of a sudden the whole playground erupted in jeering laughter. The little boy pulled himself to his knees, face dirty and a bleeding cut on his chin from where a big piece of mulch scraped it. His eyes watered, and his head hung low, as he wobbled to his feet and scuttled off to a dark corner under a tree by the fence. 

Jongwoon felt a pang of guilt for the small boy -- he knew the trio and probably could have stopped it, so he abandoned his sand castle and walked over to where the boy had pulled his legs up to his chest and cried into his knees. Carefully, he kneeled down, tilting his head so low that he could see the boy's face beneath his arms. "You okay?"

"Leave me alone," the boy mumbled and Jongwoon tilted his head to the other side. Why was this boy being so mean? When he was sad, he always wanted someone there to try and cheer him up.

"You're bleeding," he pointed out, seeing the dried blood on the boy's chin.

"I know. Now go away," the boy huffed, scooting on his butt so that his back was facing Jongwoon. But the older boy wasn't put out. 

"Do you want me to kiss it better?" Jongwoon asked curiously. The boy's head snapped up in confusion. 

"Wha--- hey!" The boy squeaked as Jongwoon took the opportunity to lean in and peck the cut. The boy hissed, the cut stinging for a bit, and he glared at Jongwoon. "What was that for?"

"My mommy always kisses my boo-boos better!" Jongwoon chirped, smiling so big his eyes turned into thin cresent moons. The small boy only stared incredulously. 

"Just how old are you..." he muttered. 

"I'm nine years old!" Jongwoon piped, holding up nine fingers. "How old are you?"

"....I'm six," the small boy replied, head dropping again. 

"So I'm your hyung! I'm Jongwoon, it's nice to meet you!" Jongwoon said happily, moving to plop down beside the small boy. The little one made no motion to return the sentiment, but Jongwoon didn't give him the opportunity anyway. "Hey, your cut is gone!"

The small boy's eyes widened, hand flying up to his chin, and to his surprise it didn't hurt anymore. "You're right..."

"See? Told you kissing it better works," Jongwoon crowed triumphantly. The small boy was too shocked to say anything.

\---

The boy's named turned out to be Ryeowook, and after that incident the two of them became close friends. Jongwoon was ecstatic because Ryeowook was his _first_ friend, and it meant he didn't have to play with dumb old Jongjin anymore. Well, not all the time anyway. Ryeowook was a little more hesistant to admit to being friends with him, but he really was happy to finally have a friend too. 

Jongwoon loved to kiss Ryeowook better as they grew up. Every time the younger boy would hurt himself on the playground, or burn his finger on hot snacks, or get pushed down by one of the bullies, Jongwoon was there to kiss it better. A short peck was all it took, and minutes later the cut would be gone. 

Unfortunately, Ryeowook was rather reluctant to return the favor. Jongwoon tried at first to get Ryeowook to kiss it better, purposely bumping his elbow and then pushing it in the younger boy's face, but Ryeowook always turned away, blushing and muttering an apology. It hurt Jongwoon's feelings, sure, but he always bounced back.

When Ryeowook was thirteen, he tripped over his shoelaces while he was carrying a lot of books and fell. He busted his lip on the corner of one of the books, and though Jongwoon wasn't around (the older boy had already entered high school at that time) his lip was still swollen and black when Jongwoon had come to meet him at the middle school gate. 

"Ryeowook! What happened?" Jongwoon exclaimed, running forward. He had a worried look in his eye that made Ryeowook feel guilty.

"It's nothing," he mumbled, eyes trained at the ground. "I just fell." Then he felt fingers under his chin, tipping it upward, and his shocked eyes met Jongwoon's. 

"Shall I kiss it better?" And Ryeowook's world seemed to stop as Jongwoon leaned in, eyes widening. He pushed Jongwoon away just before the elder's lips brushed against his.

"No!" he cried out, taking a step back as Jongwoon staggered. He saw the look of hurt cross Jongwoon's face and felt the guilt double. "Jongwoon, I'm sorry, I... just..." His eyes dropped to the floor again and he noticed a little flower sticking up between the cracks on the sidewalk. He plucked it, and, not meeting Jongwoon's eyes, pressed the flower to his lips. Pulling it away, it only took a few seconds before the flower began to wilt, rapidly. Jongwoon's eyes widened.

"This is the reason why I can't kiss anything better, Jongwoon," he whispered. "You heal. I kill." He felt traitorous tears burn the back of his eyes and he muttered. "You can run away now, if you want. I won't stop you."

And then Jongwoon pulled him into a hug. Ryeowook gasped, going stiff. "Why would I want to do that?" Jongwoon asked. "You didn't _really_ think I only wanted to kiss you better just to heal you, did you?" He pressed a kiss into Ryeowook's hair and hugged him tight. "I would never run away from you, Ryeowook." 

Ryeowook thought about it, wondering how dangerous it would be to do _this_ with Jongwoon, to be in a relationship with him despite his "gift", despite how young he was. In the end, he just hugged Jongwoon back, and wondered why he had thought about it at all.

\---

Christmas Eve, Ryeowook's senior year. Jongwoon's parents were hosting a Christmas party, which is why he had come back to town from college, but he didn't want to be there with all the uppity guests who would only glare at him and Ryeowook for holding hands (he didn't really give a damn). So in the end, he and Ryeowook decided just to go for a long walk along the river. 

The lampposts were alit with multicolored lights, sparkling off the still surface of the water. It was cold, at least below freezing, so a thin layer of ice coated the top of the river in some places. The two of them were bundled up, scarves wrapped clear up to their mouths and the bonbons on their hats bouncing with every step they took. They were holding hands, tucked inside the warmth of Jongwoon's pocket as Ryeowook leaned into Jongwoon while they walked.

"It's pretty, isn't it?" Ryeowook said when it began to snow. "Looks like it'll be a white Christmas after all." 

"Mm-hmm," Jongwoon agreed, looking down to admire the pretty flush on Ryeowook's cheeks from the cold. "Oho, is that a fever I see, Ryeowook? Shall I kiss it better?" he joked, pressing a light kiss to Ryeowook's cheek.

"Such a romantic," Ryeowook mumbled, turning even more red. 

"You love me," Jongwoon laughed. Ryeowook nodded in agreement, hugging Jongwoon's arm even closer.

They didn't notice the hurried footsteps behind them until it was too late, and then the next thing they knew, they heard someone yell "You two are sick! The world is better off without you!" before they were shouldered, hard, and pushed into the river. The shock of the icy waters, combined with the weight of their clothes, disoriented Jongwoon. He could hardly tell which way was up or down and somewhere in the chaos, he had lost grip of Ryeowook. It was when his lungs began to burn that the instinct to survive kicked in, and he flailed his legs to propel himself upward.

He took a deep breath when his head finally broke the surface, the cold air piercing his lungs as it came in. For a short moment, he collected himself, struggling to keep his head above water with his coat weighing him down. Then his heart stopped, remembering Ryeowook and he twisted around frantically in the water, looking for any sign of the younger boy. "Ryeowook!!" 

A shadow passed beneath the water, barely visible but Jongwoon did see, and he paddled over to Ryeowook. His head had gotten stuck beaneath a thin sheet of ice, and in a surprising burst of strength Jongwoon managed to lift his arm and bring it down hard enough to shatter it, and Ryeowook finally bobbed up. But he wasn't moving.

Somehow Jongwoon managed to drag them both back to the concrete riverbed, hauling himself up first and then slipping his arms under Ryeowook's armpits and pulled him up too. The younger boy still wasn't conscious, and as Jongwoon feared he wasn't breathing, either. His mind ran in overdrive, pumping Ryeowook's chest right away, half muttering and half sobbing "Breathe, Ryeowook, breathe..."

When after fifteen pumps Ryeowook still wasn't breathing, Jongwoon didn't even hesitate -- he tilted Ryeowook's head back, opened his mouth, pressed their lips together and breathed.

\---

"You are a dumbass," Ryeowook rasped the next day, huddled next to Jongwoon wrapped in a blanket, sipping his tea. "Only you would kiss me knowing I could have killed you."

"I wasn't about to let you die on me! And besides, I didn't kiss you, I performed CPR," Jongwoon replied with a cheeky grin, his voice equally rough. "It's lucky our gifts cancel each other out! I wish I had known this a long time ago, I could have kissed you properly all this time."

Ryeowook rolled his eyes, muttering about not drowning in the river but likely to catch their deaths of a cold, when familiar fingers curled up under his chin, and it was dejá vù to the maximum when Jongwoon caught his gaze.

"You look awfully sick, Ryeowook. Shall I kiss it better?" he whispered with a smile. Ryeowook grinned back.

So he did.


End file.
